Little Angel
by PinkRangerV
Summary: When Colonel Truman decides that Tenaya's a threat to the city, what can the Rangers do? After Broken. AU.


A\N: I am so mean. :)

* * *

Tenaya is curled up in her brother's arms.

Dillon hasn't left her alone at all since Kylobite died. It's gotten annoying, and a few hours ago Tenaya threatened to blast him if he didn't leave her alone long enough to shop for new clothes with Summer. But for the moment, Tenaya is content to let Dillon protect her.

"Hey! Lemme snuggle!"

Tenaya snorts. Dillon's lover Ziggy may be (not that anyone says anything, especially those two), but he should know by now that Dillon's still in his psychotic\overprotective mode.

"No." Dillon replies, glancing down at Ziggy.

Ziggy gives Tenaya puppy-dog eyes. He's gotten pretty good at them, and she smiles and pulls away from Dillon.

Dillon looks pathetically at her.

"Well, your boyfriend wants you..."

Everyone snorts. Gem and Gemma stare blankly, and Tenaya avoids their gaze. They frighten her, on a very primal level.

"Hey!" Gem says suddenly.

"We almost--"

"--Forgot to tell--"

"--You guys!"

Tenaya smiles slightly to herself. She's afraid of them, but she also pities them. This is probably just another picture they made.

She should pay more attention to how everyone tenses.

"Colonel Truman--"

"--Said he was--"

"--Going to come and--"

"--Talk to Tenaya!"

Everyone frowns. "Why?" Tenaya blurts out, suddenly afraid again. Dillon puts his arm around her shoulders.

"He's probably just gonna ask if you're on our side." Ziggy explains. "It's okay, 'Aya, he's cool! He's our boss, he has to be!"

Tenaya smiles condescendingly at him. The Twins are insane, but Ziggy should--and does--know better. "I'm sure." She drawls. "After all, I only tried to destroy the city, what, for my entire life?"

"No. Six months." Dillon corrects her. "And then you chose us."

Tenaya rolls her eyes and lets him hug her. Annoying he may be, but he's also kind. She lets the reassurance flow through her.

"And as grateful as I am, I can't help but wonder why."

Tenaya sees the Colonel and suddenly realizes that she's in pajamas, just like all the other Rangers save Dillon. She fights the blush waiting to creep onto her cheeks. This was _not_ how she wanted to meet the leader of Corinth.

"After all," Colonel Truman continues, "You were designed as an_ infiltration_ attack bot, Tenaya. And you have proven that you can fool most humans, up to the point," A glare turns on Scott, "That you can fool even my son."

Tenaya does blush this time. Dillon stands, cold anger radiating from him.

"She's my sister. She's not lying because we wouldn't betray each other."

"And how do you know that?" Colonel Truman asks. "After all, you don't remember anything! And for all I know, you could be as bad as her." He gestures to the men behind him.

Tenaya jumps as the men lunge at her, but she's tired after training with the Rangers all day and not quite willing to harm humans anymore. They pull her onto her feet, and a flash of fear runs through her.

Dillon yanks them away from her, stepping in front of her and growling, "_Stay away from my sister_."

The other Rangers stand as well.

"Dad, she's the biggest asset we have on this team." Scott says. "Arresting her won't solve anything."

"Well, then, I'd say you have some questionable team members!" Colonel Truman barks at his son. "I'll put up with K, son, but this..."

He stares at Tenaya.

She doesn't recognize what's in his eyes. Hate, disgust, fear, maybe all of them, melded with an emotion she's never seen before.

"This has gotta go."

Tenaya strikes at the man who tries to grab her, leveling her own blaster at his head to prove her point before shoving him away. "_This_," She snarls, "Isn't going anywhere. Deal with it."

The men aim their own blasters. Tenaya laughs and rids herself of hers. "Hmm. Didn't we just do this with the simulator?" She asks Scott.

It's not quite the right question, since what she's really asking is, _are you sure you want to fight_, but Scott understands.

"Grinders, soldiers...yeah, same thing." Scott agrees. "Sorry, Dad, but I've gotta say that you really should lay off now."

Truman glares. "That better not mean what I think it does, son."

Gemma steps up behind Tenaya, and she feels a small smile on her lips, because the Rangers really _are_ her team, and that feels...well, more good than anything she's ever felt before.

Then, suddenly, Gemma yanks her arm up behind her, and it's her human arm, Tenaya can hear it snap out of its socket. She's dimly aware of a blaster being pressed to her temple.

She sees a blaster pressed to Dillon's.

"Take her."

Tenaya doesn't try to fight this time.

For her brother, she will even die.

* * *

Tenaya doesn't reply when the inmates shout at her. She pretends to sleep.

But she can still hear them.

"Not so tough now, are ya, Venjix?"

"Pretty little princess, ain't ya? I'll treat you like a princess!"

"C'mere, sweetie, gimme a kiss!"

"They're gonna fry your robotic..."

She presses her arm to her ears, still trying to mimic sleep, but too desperate for the voices to finally silence.

She misses them. It hurts more than she thought possible, not hearing Summer laugh quietly, Flynn's occasional joke, Ziggy's constant, lighthearted patter, not hearing Scott and Dillon fight or sensing Dillon near her.

Here, there is only filthy, angry emotions. They stink so badly that they seem to seep into her mind.

The lights shut off. It's sudden and Tenaya blinks to adjust her eyes. Instantly she sits up, realizing that these human predators are more dangerous in the dark.

She listens to them for hours before she drifts off.

When her eyes open, the full moon is shining into the hallway. Tenaya looks at it.

She wants to be free. The longing is so bad she can almost taste it. She hasn't done anything wrong, and she wants freedom. She wants to be able to roam at her leisure, to talk to humans, to not be afraid. She wants to see her brother.

The bars aren't what's holding her in, though. Colonel Truman guessed rightly--she may be able to pop her shoulder into place, might even be able to escape, but with these monsters around, she cannot make a sound.

Should she wake them, she will be as good as dead. And Tenaya is not Ziggy. She doesn't know how to be quiet when she's destroying things.

She looks at the moon again, trying not to feel, because feeling hurts now.

A soft sound startles her.

She looks around warily, then gets to her feet. Whatever's going on, she's not going to get caught up in it.

The sound repeats itself.

Then, suddenly, Ziggy appears. Tenaya's eyes widen. Ziggy grins at her and holds up a key, then unlocks the cell door, slowly moving it ajar.

Tenaya slips free. She grins and follows him out to the street, where the Rangers are waiting.

Dillon hugs her tightly. She breathes in the whisper of black tickling her mind, the soft protectiveness and the sheer loyalty, relaxing at long last.

Then they slide into the cars.

"What's going on?" Tenaya asks, her eyes alight, ready for any adventure they can come up with.

"We're leaving." Dillon replies. "All of us. For good." He tosses her clothes. "Ziggy's not gonna look."

"What about K and the Twins?" Tenaya asks hesitantly.

"K's gonna take care of them." Ziggy explains. "She said it'll be easier for her to fight Venjix this close to her palace. And she wants to stay with them, and we are _not_ taking them along!"

Tenaya laughs and pulls her shirt on, then kisses the top of Ziggy's curly head. "You are awesome, guys."

"Aww, thanks." Summer's voice says.

Tenaya jumps, and Dillon laughs. "You're right next to the walkie-talkie."

"Yeah, we figured Dad owed us." Scott adds.

Tenaya laughs. The shields open as they near them. "Wow. We are gonna die."

"But we'll have fun doing it, lass!" Flynn adds.

They shoot out into the Wasteland night, and Tenaya laughs aloud, because they are finally free.


End file.
